Drivesafe - Greater Manchester's road safety organisation - has launched a month-long campaign asking people to become `model drivers' by adopting the same manners behind the wheel as motorists 30 years ago.
But that doesn't mean they want to see drivers barrelling along city streets in Mark III Cortinas like Life On Mars detectives, or sliding across the bonnets of Ford Capris like The Professionals.
Instead they hope to encourage drivers to be less aggressive, friendlier, courteous and patient - as they believe they were in the 70s.
Stuart Howarth, of Drivesafe, said: "The theme of the campaign is going back to the 70s when driving was a little less stressful.
"There were fewer cars on the road and mass motoring was a relatively new phenomenon. Everyone was experiencing it together, and were more friendly and considerate to other road users.
"This is all about reminding motorists there is absolutely no need to be stressed behind the wheel.
"If you see someone do something you consider silly, but it doesn't affect you directly, it is better to just let it go rather than getting wound up and possibly being involved in a crash as a result."
The `model driver' campaign is being promoted on 180 buses and 30 billboards across Greater Manchester.
It was launched outside Bolton Town Hall, with a collection of classic 70s motors including a 1971 police Range Rover, Rover PBS and Volkswagen campervan. Back in the 70s, there were just under 10m private cars registered on British roads. There are now more than 26m.
But while roads are busier and more dangerous, concentration levels appear to have declined.
Statistics show that 18 per cent of road accidents across Greater Manchester between 2004 and 2007 were attributed to poor driving skills, often a lack of concentration. Tweet
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I learnt to drive in the'70s and driving, along with most other things, was much more enjoyable then
There was less congestion and the whole thing was just generally much less hassly
I think part of the problem is the design of modern cars. They are too fast and are designed to make you forget you are driving. Also all these safety gadgets have the effect of shifting responsibility for safety from the driver to the car, which I think is a bad thing.
It takes away driving skill and leads to a mentality that It does'nt matter if I am a bad driver any more.
Personally I would much rather travel in the tattiest old banger imaginable driven by an expert safe driver than one with all the safety devices known to man, driven by a lunatic
In the 1970s we had real traffic police which patrolled the streets and roads? now we dont see many traffic police on our roads looking for bad driving.The standard of driving now is disgusting .people dont know what indicators are?
There were over 8,000 fatalities a year on the roads in the 1970's - there are over 3,000 now. Things are a lot safer now.
I agree Mr Angry that drivers in the 70s seemed to have far more savvy with other road users than today.Most of the drivers I knew then had progressed from push bikes to motor bikes or scooters and then to cars so had a bit more time for others on the road.Also the average cars in those days wrer nothing like as fast as todays.Cars I recall owning then were A MK2 Zodiac a MK3 Cortina GT and an Avenger 1500 GT which were classed as pretty powerful cars in their day but wuold be considered quite slow and ponderous now so you couldn't really throw them around like todays motors invariably are.I'd admit that I may be looking back with slightly rose tinted glasses but its as good as I can remember it.
Lebist, I still drive a Cortina, a Mk IV 1600, as my preservation project. My wife has a Nissan almera and I do feel that I drive the Cortina much more safely and carefully as it is heavy to steer and much slower
Another point which may be worth mentioning is that with what I call "proper cars", ie those from the '50s through to the '70s you had to do quite a lot of maintainance otherwise they just would'nt run, with a modern car, like the Nissan, I never have to open the bonnet, it is just a kind of domestic appliance.
Having to perform maintainance work leads to some mechanical knowledge and this may have a bearing on driving standards.
Bet youre sorry you dont have the MkII Zodiac now are'nt you? Those really were superb machines. I bought a Zephyr a few years ago intending to restore it but it needed more work than I could really do so I passed it on to someone in the owners club.
Ah, the 70s! those were the days . . . petrol rationing, drink drivers, buses and lorries belching fumes, rusty patched-up wrecks, crossply tyres, static seatbelts and amusing stick-on window "bullet holes" for the kids. Clearly this lovely idea was contrived by someone who was never there.
Mr Angry the Zodiac was a lovely motor in its day with bench seats column change umbrella handbrake vaccuum wipers (great on overrun) girders for bumpers and a boot you could live in.Unfortunately the brakes(all drum) and the steering(non power of course) left a lot to be desired but of course you drove accordingly so kept safe.I was in a darts team for The Old Brewery in Openshaw in those days and although I wasn't very good I was always picked for away games as I could squeeze the whole darts team,seven of us,into the Zodiac so was always guaranteed a game.I really dont think I'd swap my skoda for one though but if your interested may think of doing a deal regarding your Cortina.Cheers
Mr Angry, afternoon, I learned to drive in the early 1970s in a 1959 split screen Morris 850, which I renovated. Happy days! I wish I'd have kept hold of it.
You all wear rose tinted glasses as a mechanic of the 1970s all that i remember were cars that were full of rust after three years.Austin 1100s fell in half because of the rust the suspension was always failing the vauxhalls all fell appart because they were rusting badly infact if you left one on your drive you got a big patch of red from the rust .the cars of yesteryears were garbage hard to drive and very unsafe plus they broke down most days and servicing was a headache,plugs points,condensors,and all those grease nipples. what a headache those cars were.
Ace, I service my Cortina myself and think it is extremely easy to maintain. You are right about Austin 1100s though, my dad had one and it fell apart, the rear subframe went
What about the Fiat 127 - my father in law had one and his path turned orange. He eventually just swpet it down the grid and bought a proper car - a Marina!
Ace your quite right about rust that was a real killer but regarding breakdowns at least if you had a few tools and a bit of knowledge you could soon be back on the road again.Todays cars are far more reliable but when they do go wrong you need a degree in electronics and a computer to put them right.I bought my first "modern"car about ten years ago It was a Rover 220 SLI and I traded my Morris Ital in for it.When I opened the bonnet I admitted defeat and joined the AA.As you aay though rose tinted glasses and nearly forty years do tend to cloud the memory but I still maintain driving was more fun then.
My Mum had a Marina, which was given to her by my Dad who first had it as a company car.
The front n/s wing rusted so bad that one day my brother walked past it and caught the rusting wing on his woolly jumper - which pulled the entire wing off. Her next car, a Y reg Fiat Panda was not much of an improvement !
Mr Angry, Bury
Cortinas are very easy to maintain but still have problems with points/condensors ect.most modern cars go years without any problems on the ignition side and are very reliable,the old cortinas i had loads of problems with carbs on them flooding ect and they are not that good on fuel.GIVE ME A MODERN CAR ANYDAY.
I was already an experienced driver by the 1970s and have no "rose-tinted glasses" to look through. Drivers then were no better and no worse than drivers now. Some were good, some were bad and some were simply hopeless.
Road Rage simply hadn't been given a catchy label. If drivers seemed more patient then it was because society was less prone to violent reactions in general rather than anything to do with motoring or the fact that cars were simpler and you could “enjoy” yourself constantly tinkering with them.
I suppose those who remember driving in the 1970s with nostalgia also thought that “real” motor-bikes had proper kick-starts, not like those fancy-dan foreign bikes with silly push button electric starters.
Now if you want to know what motoring should be like, try driving a 1920s Bentley with the accelerator in the middle of the three pedals, the handbrake on the outside of the car and you had to use a lever on the centre of the steering wheel to retard the ignition whilst you started it with a “proper” starting handle.
You can all wish for the “good old days” if you want, I would rather have the vehicles of today which are far more economical, reliable, far safer for all concerned and tend to slow down when you use the brakes!
Anybody remember what “brake-fade” was?
lebist, Blackley
Morris itals.were a joke the wheels kept falling off them when you turned the corners they were still using suspension parts designed in the 1940s/50s from the old morris minors and the ital used to fall appart with rust.Who in their right mind would want a car that wheels fell off ...hehehehehehe.
Ace why do you think I got rid of it?After all I'd only had it for seven years.
Ace, did you ever, in your time as a mechanic, have to change the oil filter on an Austin A60 Cambridge? Now that really was a PIG of a job. My mates dad had one and the two of us serviced it for him once.
The filter was behind the crossmember and was a bowl with a paper element in it with a rubber ring to seal it.
It took us 3 hours to get the thing to seal properly and both of us, and the path, were covered in oil.
Fun fun fun, happy days
Mr Angry, Bury
Motoring of yesteryears "I remember it well" It was terrible compared to modern cars.Most older cars were knackered at 40,000 miles if they reach that distance? hehehehehe .
Ace, the Ital replaced the Marina -enough said !
Ace, my first car, an Austin A40 did 170000 miles. heeheehee
Austin a40s the headlights and the wings used to fall oppart and the "tailgate used to rot and fall off" happy days...not a lot to say about old cars that will impress anybody after spending most of my life repairing this garbage. new cars are best.
Ace, I can't argue with you that modern cars are not more reliable, they are, I have one as well and I never have to lift the bonnet, but I have no interest in it, whereas I enjoy tinkering with my Cortina.
If you take the edginess out of things they become boring, cars have, music has,all X factor c***, football has,you know who the top four will be in the Premiership every year,the city centre has, get rid of Afflecks and convert it into apartments.Everything becomes bland, sanitised and predictable
Mr Angry, Bury
Im in total agreement with you and yes the older cars are more fun to play with and like you say the new cars are very bland and boring. totally agree with you on that one.
Steering column that will impale you in a crash. Oh yes, those were the days.